Marines differ on deadly Afghan shooting

[thedrifter]

Posted on Tue, Jan. 08, 2008 <br />
Marines differ on deadly Afghan shooting <br />
By ESTES THOMPSON <br />
A former Marine testified Tuesday that he thinks Afghans were killed needlessly by his special operations...

[thedrifter]

Published: Jan 08, 2008 12:09 PM <br />
Modified: Jan 08, 2008 03:56 PM <br />
Witness: Marines fired on harmless civilians <br />
By Jay Price, Staff Writer <br />
CAMP LEJEUNE — After they were attacked by a car bomb, a...

[thedrifter]

Marine testifies he saw no enemy fire <br />
Up to 19 Afghans died when a convoy, fleeing a bomb, shot at traffic. His position was poor; a 2nd witness heard shots. <br />
By David Zucchino <br />
Los Angeles Times...

[thedrifter]

Marines testify about Afghanistan battle <br />
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By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer <br />
27 minutes ago <br />
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Two Marines involved in a shooting that killed as many as 19 Afghan civilians testified...

[thedrifter]

Memories of Afghanistan shootings vary
Thursday is Day 4 of court of inquiry
BY JENNIFER HLAD
January 9, 2008 - 9:23PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Four men — including an interpreter — testified Wednesday at a court of inquiry that they heard small-arms fire as they traveled in a six-vehicle convoy in Afghanistan’s Nangahar province on March 4, 2007.

A panel of three officers is examining the events of that day when Marines say their convoy was attacked by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device and later by gunshots from people on the side of the road. Army officials have accused the Marines of Marine Special Operations Fox Company of firing indiscriminately and killing civilians in vehicles and along the roadside.

Wednesday, Sgt. Brett Hayes, Sgt. Jason Roberts, Sgt. Benjamin Baker and interpreter Habib Sahar each described their memories of March 4, though details varied from one witness to another.

Hayes, the first to testify, was riding in the back left of the second vehicle in the convoy. He said the convoy left Jalalabad Air Base and traveled to the Torkham gate — near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border — with no problems. On the way back on Route 1, he said he suddenly saw red flames in his face.

At the time, he said, he didn’t realize the fire and explosion were from a bomb carried in a vehicle.

“I thought I was dead, to be honest with you,” he told the court of inquiry. “I thought everyone (else) in my vehicle was dead, too.”

After the blast, Hayes said the vehicle was still rolling. It came to a stop before a bridge, and Hayes concentrated on trying to fix his radio, so he could call for air support.
The gunner in Hayes’ vehicle, Sgt. Joshua Henderson, had been knocked down from the turret into the main body of the Humvee by the blast, Hayes said. As Henderson began to get back up — but before he was behind his weapon — Hayes said he heard small-arms fire.

Once Henderson was in the turret, Hayes said he heard Henderson say “contact left,” then fired to the left. Then, Henderson said “contact right” and fired to the right, Hayes said.
During the attacks, Henderson ran out of ammunition and requested another 200-round can, Hayes said. He had started the day with a full 200-round can.

After the Humvee crossed the bridge, Hayes said he heard Henderson say “contact right” again. That was the last gunfire he heard, he said, and shortly afterward Henderson realized he was injured. Hayes replaced Henderson in the turret but did not fire his weapon on the trip back to base.

Though Hayes said he heard what he thought was AK-47 fire while Henderson was in the turret, Hayes did not see anything outside the Humvee during that time, because he was focused on fixing his radio.

"I was worried about getting air and getting back alive,” he said.

Sahar also told the court of inquiry he heard gunfire he believed was from AK-47s, but his testimony was difficult to hear because the door to the courtroom was locked before reporters could get in, and the sound on a closed-circuit feed to the media center made the discussion hard to understand.

Sahar, who works for a contractor for the U.S. government, was traveling in the third vehicle in the convoy, next to Nathaniel Travers, who testified Tuesday. Sahar said the small-arms fire he heard was far away, and he could not trace its origin.

Roberts, the driver of the first vehicle in the convoy, said the initial blast was behind him. Afterward, he heard “snaps and pops” overhead, between the sound of firing by the gunner in his vehicle and the gunner in the second Humvee.

Roberts, like many of the witnesses who have testified so far, said his radio was working fine before the blast but was not working at all after the explosion.

When Roberts drove forward and past the bridge, he said he saw a black truck on the right side of the road, in front of a small gas station. The truck pulled out and was driving toward the convoy, Roberts said, then began to make a U-turn.

The gunner in Roberts’ Humvee fired shots, but Roberts said he did not see where they went. The truck pulled off the side of the road, he said.

As the convoy continued past the gas station, Roberts said he also heard “snaps and pops” in an orchard area and that farther down the road, the gunner fired warning shots in a village to get a crowd of people to clear the road.

Baker was sitting in the passenger seat next to Roberts during the incident, but he remembers the encounter with the black truck differently.

He said the truck pulled out in front of the convoy before they even got to the gas station, and was headed away from the Humvees, but slowing their progress. The gunner fired shots into the ground that bounced up into the truck’s bed, and the truck pulled over shortly before the gas station, he said.

Baker also had a more detailed description of what happened immediately before the blast. A white car pulled off the side of the road up ahead, he said, then a white passenger van was heading toward the convoy. As it passed, Baker said he saw a man with a “big white beard” driving.

Then, Baker said, he heard an explosion and a Marine in his Humvee screamed “IED!”

Baker also described seeing branches falling from right to left and left to right in the orchard area, which he believes was a result of gunfire from the side of the road. His description of the warning shots in the village area was similar to Roberts’.

Still, though all four men said they heard gunfire they believed was from AK-47s, none of the men saw anyone holding or shooting weapons on the side of the road.
Testimony continues today.


Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8467.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Article published Jan 10, 2008 <br />
Marines cite self-defense <br />
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January 10, 2008 <br />
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A Marine riding in a Humvee during a shooting that left as many as 19 Afghan civilians...